1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a casino card game. More particularly, this invention is concerned with a card game with easy to understand rules that is played against a casino and which includes the opportunity for multiple wagering on various possible outcomes at each play of the cards.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
The gaming industry, and in particular casino type gambling, has become a rapidly growing business. As a result of the substantial increase in the number of casinos, a need to has developed to interest new players in casino gaming. The use of cash promotions and complementary benefits can bring new potential players into a casino once or twice. However to make first or second time visitors into regular players, it is important that the casino games be interesting and exciting and most importantly, be easy to understand and play.
The games that are traditionally played in casinos vary widely in the complexity of the rules required to play the games and the skill involved in the play. In general, the more interesting and exciting the game, the more skill and personal involvement of the player is required. This tends to discourage novice players from trying certain of the more interesting casino games.
The easiest game to play in a casino, from a skill level, is single play slots. Winning or losing and the payoffs are the result of a random selection by the slot machine. A player merely pulls a lever and hopes for a winning combination of cherries, bells, lemons or other objects to appear in a horizontal row. Slots rapidity become boring for many new players. In addition, since each play is relatively short, there is little long term involvement and the type of wagering is limited.
Video poker games have been added to most casinos as an alternative that is more interesting and challenging. In video poker the player has the option of selecting how many card to draw and which cards to discard. Video poker, like slots, has the disadvantage of being a solitary game played against a machine. This is not appealing to many players interested in the social interaction and excitement of playing with other players. A further disadvantage of video poker is that it does not play like a poker card game, which involves other players and a greater degree of challenge.
Blackjack is a card game which requires more skill and player involvement. A degree of luck is required to win, but a player with an understanding of the game, and particularly the odds of winning, can enhance his chances. It is also a more social game, involving other players and a dealer. Blackjack is an important casino game in that players who do not like slots or video poker can graduate to blackjack. The basic rules of blackjack are relatively simple to understand and the players actively participate in the play of the game by making decision about whether to take an additional card or hold onto the cards dealt based upon the point value of the hand and what is shown by the dealer. In addition, there are wagering decisions involved between cards dealt and decisions about whether to split pairs and the like. Blackjack is also an ideal game for casinos. The casino is an active participant in blackjack which is preferable to most card games, such as conventional poker, where the casino typically only renders services for a fee by providing tables for play and a nonplaying dealer. Various numbers of players can participate, from one to as many as the dealer can reasonable handle, without changing the play of the game. In addition, the players do not have physical contact with the cards, which substantially reduces cheating as a result of marking of the cards. A disadvantage of blackjack for the casino is that the play of an individual hand is relatively short, the opportunities for wagering are limited and the odds can be beaten by card counting. The finer points of blackjack can also be difficult for novice players to fully understand, such as insurance and splitting of pairs, which can make the difference between winning and losing.
A game that has wide spread appeal among older experienced gamblers is craps. Craps is one of the most interesting and challenging games played in the casino. The roll of the dice to establish the initial point and the series of rolls of the dices until the point is made or the player loses creates extended interest and excitement in the game. Between each roll of the dice, players can make wagers on the outcome of the next roll. The wagering includes different types of bets as to what will be rolled and different odds for the different types of wagers. The extended play and the opportunity to make different types of wagers before each roll of the dice increases the interest and involvement of the players in the game. The interest and appeal of craps can easily be seen in any casino where people visiting the casinos especially of the first time tend to stand around the craps tables and watch the game being played. The game of craps has many desirable attributes for a casino game. There is an extended play of the game, there are multiple opportunities to wager and different types of wagers with different odds are involved. Craps is interesting for the players, as skill and an understanding of the odds are required, giving the game a loyal following. The problem with craps as a casino game is that most crap players are older persons who learned the rules of the game playing on the street comer. Most younger players, and especially novice players just coming to the casinos, do not understand the rules and are intimidated by the game of craps. In addition, most players are accustomed to card games. The use of dice for gambling is unfamiliar and uncomfortable. As a result, younger players and novice players, while interested in the game of craps, are afraid to play it. As a result, the number of craps players is getting less and less as older players stop playing and new players do not even begin to play the game. An additional problem with craps is that the individual players handle the dice, which increases the chances of cheating.
What would be highly desirable would be a casino card game having the positive attributes of craps, including being interesting and challenging to play; involving a number of possible plays to complete a game; allowing players to make wagering decisions between plays of the game; playable equally well with a different number of players; having multiple and different types of wagering before each card is played; and being played against the casino. It would also be desirable if the card game had the desirable attributes of blackjack, including allowing only the dealer to contact the playing cards, but having rules of play more easily understood by the novice player. A card game which could be played as a live table game and also as a video game, without a difference in rules and play, would also be highly desirable.